Bath-cabinet.



PATENTED DBG. 17, 1907.

A. M. WALSTROM.

BATH CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED 001224, 1904.

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No. 873,811l PATENTED DEG. 17, 1907. A. M. WALSTROM.

BATH CABINET.

APPLIGATION FILED 00211.24, 1904.

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PATENTED DBG. 1'7,- 1907.

' A; M. WALSTROM.

BATH CABINET.

APPLIOATION FILED 001224, 1,904.

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AXEL M. WALSTROM, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BATH-CABINET. l

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907. y

Application filed October 24. 1904. Serial No. 229.840.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AXEL M. VALSTROM, of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful 1mprovements in Bath-Cabinets, of which the following isa speciiication.

My invention relates to portable bath cabinets, and the objects of the invention are to provide a cabinet of neat appearance, light weight, and hence easily moved and designed to be used as a part of a bedroom set of furniture.

A further object is to provide a bath cabinet that is convenient and always ready for use, and designed particularly for farming communities where, as a rule, bath rooms, water under pressure, and other bathing facilities are unknown, or in a city where bath rooms are beyond the reach of the poorer classes of people and who have, generally speaking, no bathing conveniences.

Other obj eots of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

The invention consists generally in a tub pivoted at one end and having an overhanging wall to prevent the water from running out when the tub is raised to an upright position.

Further, the invention consists in an improved spraying device, and in means for forcing the water therethrough.

Further, the invention consists in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a bath cabinet embodying my invention, the front of the cabinet being open. Fig. 2 is a similar vview with the cabinet closed. Fig. 3 is also a vertical section showing the tub in a horizontal position and the spraying device ready for use. Fig. 4 is a front view with the doors open showing means for heating the water in the tub. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the tub in position ready for use. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the means for supporting the oil reservoir and the spraying device at the back of the cabinet. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the apparatus for forcing the water in the tub up to the spraying device. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view, and Figs, 10 and 11 are detail views of the device that is fitted around the neck and provided with perforations through which the water is discharged upon I the body.

1n the drawings, 2 represents the side Walls of the cabinet, having legs 3, a rear wall or panel 4, and doors 5 that swing toward one another and close the front of the cabinet. An ornamental railing 6 is provided on the top of the cabinet above the panel 4, and a hinged cover 7, supporting a mirror 7, is arranged to drop down over the top of the cabinet and the upper ends of the doors 5 holding them in their closed position and presenting a neat finished appearance to the top of the apparatus. A folding brace or bracket 8 is provided to support the cover 7 in its raised position when the cabinet is in use.

9 represents a bath tub hinged at its inner end to the wall 4 and adapted to be raised to a vertical position when not in use, as indicated in Fig. 1, or swung down to a horizontal position ready for use, as shown in Fig. 3, the hinge of the tub being a suflicient distance above the fioor to allow the bottom of the tub to rest on the floor when swung down to a horizontal position. The tub is composed of a sheet metal lining 9 having a wall 10 at the inner end of the tub that overhangs that end to prevent the water from running out of the tub when it is raised. A faucet 11 is provided at the end of the tub through which the water may be drawn 0H after bathing. Ordinarily, when there is no sewer or cess pool connection it would be necessary to lift the bath tub and empty the water out. By providing the wall 10, however, 1 am able to avoid the labor and annoyance of emptying the tub after using the cabinet, as the watercan be easily and quickly drawn out through the faucet into a pail beneath. When the tub is raised to a vertical position the water will fiow back toward the pivoted end, and aid the operator in raising the tub to an upright position. held in its vertical position by means of a handle 12 engaging a hook 13. The bottom of the tub is preferably sheathed with boards 14 and, as indicated in Fig. 1, lf prefer to secure two of these boards together to form a shelf 15 and hinge it to the other boards, a brace 16 slidably supported in guides 17 on the bottom of the tub being provided to support the shelf in its horizontal position. The hinges of the shelf and the brace are arranged to be flush with the other sheathing boards when the shelf is folded, to allow the tub to rest flat upon the floor when in use. A basin The tub is 16 may be placed on the shelf and water for washing obtained from the tub through the faucet 11, it being assumed that a supply of water will be kept in the tub for immediate use. This arrangement allows the cabinet to be used in place of a washstand in a bedroom, the space beneath the lower end of the tub being utilized to place a pail in which to our the waste water. -Suitable oil cloth angings 19 are provided on each side of the cabinet, and towel racks 1S are hinged on the doors 5 and support the hangings 19 which, when the racks are swung out to the position shown in Fig. 5, screen the interior of the cabinet and conceal the person using the tub.

A shelf 20 is provided on the rear wall 4 to strengthen and brace the sides `of the cabinet, and also form a stop for the tub when it is raised and support the waterproof hanging 21 which depends in front of the rear wall and is made in two pieces, as indicated in Fig. 6, to permit convenient access to the space beneath the shelf. Within this space a hook 22 (see Fig. 3) is provided whereon the spraying apparatus may be hung when not in use, and, as shown in Fig. 6, brackets 23 are also provided beneath the shelf to support an oil can 24 having a tube 25 leading to the burner 26, by means of which the water in the tub may be heated or kept hot, if desired, Aalthough water kept in the tub for a few hours in a living room temperature will be ordinarily warm enough for a person in good health to bathe in. The burner is mounted on a bracket 27 that is capablev of swinging around against the side wall of the cabinet when the burner is not in use.

In places where this cabinet would be gen# erally used it is not convenient or practicable to fill the tub with water, particularly when it is heated beforehand, or when it is desired to raise the tub to a vertical position without removing its contents. It therefore happens that only a small amount of water will be laced in the tub preparatory to bathing, an it is desirable to provide a spraying device by means of which the person using the cabinet can stand or sit in the tub and spray the water over the body. I therefore provide a neck piece 28 made preferably of rubber tubing that is heavier and stiffer than the other, having a series of perforations 29 in one sideand adapted to be placed around the neck and connected to a tube 30 at one end, and provided at its other end with a plug 31, having a hook 32 that is put over the tube 30 to hold the ends of the tube 28 together when the device is in use. The holes 29 will be located in the inner wall of the tube to directthe spray down over the body of the wearer. The tube 30 is connected to a nipple 33 mounted in a block 34 in one end of a frame 35. This block and frame are adapted to rest upon the bottomv of the tub and have a exible gasket 36, prefsfrasii erably a strip of rubber, the edge of which bears on the tub bottom and forms a close, water-tight joint therewith when pressure is applied to force the water up into the tube 28. An elbow 37 is connected to the nipple 33, having its open end close to the iioor of the tub, and provided with a valve 38. A plate 39 is hinged at one end to the block 34 and normally held in a raised position by a spring 40, and the opposite end and sides of said plate has a flexible connection 41 with the frame 35.

The device just described has substantially the lconstruction and functions of a bellows, except that it is open on one side to allow the Water to flow in. The open side of the pump or bellows allows it to dry on the inside and makes it easy of access for cleansing purposes. The pump is very simple in construction, of light weight, and easily operated.

To use the device the bellows is placed on the bottom of the tub and the plate 39 depressed by the foot or hand, and the escape of the water beneath the frame 35 being prevented by the gasket 36 it will be forced up through the elbow 37 into the tube 28 and discharged through the holes 29. When the operator removes the foot or hand from the top plate of the pump or bellows, or releases the pressure on the same, the spring 40 will force the said plate upward, and the suction thus formed will draw the water into the pump from all sides between the gasket and the bottom of the tub, and the operator can, by preventing the water from returning to the tub pump it almost entirely dry. As the bellows rests upon the bottom of the tub and the opening to the elbow 37 is close to the bottom, it follows that even with very little water in the tub the operation of spraying can be very effectively performed. When not in use the tube 30 can be suspended on the hook 42 on the side wall of thercabinet.

`Other hooks and shelves may be provided on the rear wall of the cabinet, on which soap dishes, bath brushes, and other toilet articles may be placed.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with a cabinet ,having side walls provided with legs, and a rear wall whose lower edge is a considerable distance above the floor, and doors hinged to said side walls and closing the front of the cabinet, and a cover hinged to said rear wall and normally locking said front doors in their closed position, of a bath tub hinged to said rear wall and adapted to be lowered to a horizontal position and rest upon the floor, or to be raised to a vertical position within said cabinet, substantially as described.

2. A bath cabinet, comprising side and rear walls and doors hinged to the front edge of said side walls, a bath tub hinged at one end within said cabinet and adapted to be dropped down to a horizontal position and rest upon the iioor, waterproof hangings carried by said walls and doors, and towel-racks hinged to said doors near their forward edges when open and supporting waterproof hangings arranged to conceal the interior of the cabinet when the tub is in its horizontal position, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, a spraying apparatus comprising a frame adapted to rest upon the floor of the tub and having a gasket of fieXible material with its edge bearing upon said floor, a plate hinged to one end of said frame, a spring normally holding said plate in its raised position, a ieXible material connecting the sides `and ends of said plate with said frame, a pipe having a valved opening Within said frame near the lower edge thereof, a perforated tube adapted to be placed around the neck, and a pipe connecting said valved opening with said perforated tube, substantially as described. t

4. The combination with a cabinet having side walls and a rear wall whose lower edge is a considerable distance above the iioor, and doors hinged to said side walls and closing the front of the cabinet, of a bath tub hinged at one end to the lower edge of saidrear wall and adapted to be swung to a vertical position within the cabinet, said tub having a wall at its hinged end overhanging said end whenv the tub is in a horizontal position, and preventing the escape of Water from the tub when it istraised to a vertical position, the hinged end of said tub being normally closed against the escape of water when the tub is raised, a faucet provided in said hinged end and there being a sufcient space between necting the edges of said plate with said frame, a perforated tube adapted to be placed around the neck and having apipe connection with said valved opening, substantially as described. l v

6. The combination with a cabinet having side and rear walls and doors closing the front of the cabinet, of a bath tub having its inner end hinged to said rear wall the tub resting flat upon the floor when lowered to a horizontal position, said tub having a wall at its hinged end overhanging said end when the tub is lowered and preventing the escape of-water from the tub when it is raised to a vertical position, said tub and wall being composed of metal and the inner end of the tub being exposed when the tub is raised, a draw off faucet provided in the hinged end of said tub and there being a sufficient space between said hinged end and the floor to receive a suitable heating a ent beneath said exposed end of the tub, su stantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of October 1904.

AXEL M. 'WALSTROM- Witnesses:

RICHARD PAUL, Y C. MACNAMARA. 

